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[354]
Now when Herod had already reigned seventeen years, Caesar came into
Syria; at which time the greatest part of the inhabitants of Gadara clamored
against Herod, as one that was heavy in his injunctions, and tyrannical.
These reproaches they mainly ventured upon by the encouragement of Zenodorus,
who took his oath that he would never leave Herod till he had procured
that they should be severed from Herod's kingdom, and joined to Caesar's
province. The Gadarens were induced hereby, and made no small cry against
him, and that the more boldly, because those that had been delivered up
by Agrippa were not punished by Herod, who let them go, and did them no
harm; for indeed he was the principal man in the world who appeared almost
inexorable in punishing crimes in his own family, but very generous in
remitting the offenses that were committed elsewhere. And while they accused
Herod of injuries, and plunderings, and subversions of temples, he stood
unconcerned, and was ready to make his defense. However, Caesar gave him
his right hand, and remitted nothing of his kindness to him, upon this
disturbance by the multitude; and indeed these things were alleged the
first day, but the hearing proceeded no further; for as the Gadarens saw
the inclination of Caesar and of his assessors, and expected, as they had
reason to do, that they should be delivered up to the king, some of them,
out of a dread of the torments they might undergo, cut their own throats
in the night time, and some of them threw themselves down precipices, and
others of them cast themselves into the river, and destroyed themselves
of their own accord; which accidents seemed a sufficient condemnation of
the rashness and crimes they had been guilty of; whereupon Caesar made
no longer delay, but cleared Herod from the crimes he was accused of. Another
happy accident there was, which was a further great advantage to Herod
at this time; for Zenodorus's belly burst, and a great quantity of blood
issued from him in his sickness, and he thereby departed this life at Antioch
in Syria; so Caesar bestowed his country, which was no small one, upon
Herod; it lay between Trachon and Galilee, and contained Ulatha, and Paneas,
and the country round about. He also made him one of the procurators of
Syria, and commanded that they should do every thing with his approbation;
and, in short, he arrived at that pitch of felicity, that whereas there
were but two men that governed the vast Roman empire, first Caesar, and
then Agrippa, who was his principal favorite, Caesar preferred no one to
Herod besides Agrippa, and Agrippa made no one his greater friend than
Herod besides Caesar. And when he had acquired such freedom, he begged
of Caesar a tetrarchy 1
for his brother Pheroras, while he did himself bestow upon him a revenue
of a hundred talents out of his own kingdom, that in case he came to any
harm himself, his brother might be in safety, and that his sons might not
have dominion over him. So when he had conducted Caesar to the sea, and
was returned home, he built him a most beautiful temple, of the whitest
stone, in Zenodorus's country, near the place called Panlure. This is a
very fine cave in a mountain, under which there is a great cavity in the
earth, and the cavern is abrupt, and prodigiously deep, and frill of a
still water; over it hangs a vast mountain; and under the caverns arise
the springs of the river Jordan. Herod adorned this place, which was already
a very remarkable one, still further by the erection of this temple, which
he dedicated to Caesar.

1 A tetrarchy properly and originally denoted the fourth part of an entire
kingdom or country, and a tetrarch one that was ruler of such a fourth
part, which always implies somewhat less extent of dominion and power than
belong to a kingdom and to a king.

Flavius Josephus. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by. William Whiston, A.M. Auburn and Buffalo. John E. Beardsley. 1895.

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